Republican James Gallagher has scored two key endorsements that could put him ahead in the open race for California’s 3rd Assembly District.

The sprawling district north of Sacramento is solidly Republican, and with incumbent Dan Logue, R-Marysville, running for Congress, the race appears to be between Gallagher, a Sutter County supervisor from a longstanding farming family, and Ryan Schohr, another Republican with roots in the region’s agricultural community.

He also received an endorsement last week from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. The powerful anti-tax group seldom gets involved in intra-party primary races.

“I am excited to receive the endorsement of such a respected taxpayer organization,” Gallagher said in a statement. “I’m humbled that they have recognized my work on the Board of Supervisors and my commitment to protect taxpayers from government waste and abuse.”

Schohr, a farmer who serves on the Butte County Water Commission, said he is “not a politician or a bureaucrat,” so he has not been seeking out those statewide endorsements.

“I’ve got the support of hundreds of families and farmers and business owners in the district,” he said. “I’ve got a record of fighting taxes and wasteful spending and harmful regulations… I’m happy to work with anybody who has those same conservative ideals.”

Gallagher and Schohr also face Democrat Jim Reed in the June primary.

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There is a rule in politics. Every bit of support you can get is good. The sorry attempt at spin by Schohr in this article is people’s exhibit A that Schohr is not ready for prime-time.

Let’s hope the CRA endorsement of Gallagher has the same effect on AD-03 as the threat of a CRA endorsement did to Mark Wyland when he simply dropped out of the race against Diane Harkey.